Caroline Flack’s mother and sister reveal late star had long history of mental health struggles

Family members of Love Island presenter feature in new ITV documentary about her life and death

Caroline Flack’s mother Christine and twin sister Jody will discuss the late star’s history of mental health struggles in a new documentary.

The Channel 4 programme, Caroline Flack: Her Life and Death, sees the former Love Island presenter’s friends and family pay tribute to her and talk about the events that led to her taking her own life in February last year.

Flack died by suicide just weeks before she was due to face trial over allegations that she had assaulted her boyfriend Lewis Burton at her flat, which she denied.

In the documentary, Jody talks about how Caroline “found heartbreak impossible” and recalls how her sister fell into a deep depression after a relationship with one of her first boyfriends broke down. “She really struggled emotionally,” says Jody. “That pattern carried on forever.”

Read more: One year on from Caroline Flack’s death, are we still ‘being kind’?

She adds: “It feels so weird talking about it because I know it’s something she didn’t want anyone to know about. After each serious boyfriend she sort of took a lot of tablets, drank a lot and ended up in an A&E situation a lot of times. She really didn’t think she could cope with that feeling. I guess it was her trying to control it. ”

Jody also says Caroline “was fascinated by the subject of suicide and I knew that about her so it was a worry for a long time”. She says: “I’d prepared myself for it to happen.”

Caroline Flack: Her Life and Death will air on Channel 4 on 17 March.

You can find helpful tips on how to start a conversation, or if you are worried about someone else, on Samaritans website. You can contact the Samaritans helpline by calling 116 123. The helpline is free and open 24 hours a day every day of the year. You can also contact Samaritans by emailing jo@samaritans.org. The average response time is 24 hours.